Bray Emmets battle to victory against Carnew in competitive affair
THE MEN of Bray Emmets made the long journey home from Carnew all the more enjoyable after they claimed the points on Saturday evening in this SFL Division 1 clash on the Wexford border.
A strange clash this one, eagerly contested, fair and energetic but messy and strategically bizarre at times. Carnew brought a plan to the table of bringing centre half forward Timmy Collins back into their defence and try- ing to get men behind the ball when Bray attacked and, for a time, this worked but it made for very unpleasant viewing and limited Carnew's attacking threat which, if trusted, could have caused major damage.
Bray on the other hand took a long time to break down this Carnew defence and can thank a goalkeeping error in the first half by Diarmuid Doran for their first goal and their three-point lead at half time.
Their physically imposing forwards caused the home side more difficulty in the second half whereas Carnew, at times, opened up a chasm of space between their full forward line and the rest of the team; at one stage the nearest players to the full forward line were in their own half back line.
It was tit for tat in the early stages. Bray's David Finn opened their account in the first minute before the tormenting corner forward Seamus Osborne pointed the first of his superb tally of five points a minute later.
It was 0-04 to 0-03 for the visitors when David Finn worked hard along the end line but struck a poor shot towards Diarmuid Doran in the Carnew goal. Doran, expecting a missile no doubt, seemed taken by surprise by the harmless effort and fumbled the catch and corner forward Conor Flannery struck home from close range.
Carnew battled hard all through this game but really needed a goal but that vital score was grabbed by Bray 13 minutes into the second half with the score at 1-07 to 0-08.
A lovely move started by corner back Shane Lohan who linked up with Conor Flannery who fed Stephen McNicholas and he drilled it home to the bottom corner of Doran's net.
The slowness of the Carnew ball to their isolated full forward line was killing any chance the home side had of getting back into this clash and despite a great performance from Seamus Osborne and the assured free taking of John Kavanagh they were unable to break down a diligent Bray defence marshalled at full back by the impressive Luke Benson.
Bray will need to speed things up themselves as the ground hardens up; they can be ponderous and lateral as they move the ball forward but they did have to deal with a tenacious and battling Carnew defence at a venue where nobody gets anything lightly, certainly not a victory.
Scorers: Bray Emmets: Johnny Kinch 0-04 (4f); Conor Flannery 1-02; Marc Lennon 0-03; Stephen McNicholas 101; David Finn 0-01.
Carnew Emmets: Seamus Osborne 005; John Kavanagh 0-04 (4f); Niall Osborne 0-01.
Carnew Emmets: Diarmuid Doran; Shane Doyle, Willie Collins, Cormac Doyle; Niall Osborne, Mark Collins, Adrian Myers; John Doyle, Thomas Kennedy; Nick Skelton, Timmy Collins, Michael Collins; Seamus Osborne, John Kavanagh, Padraig Doran.
Bray Emmets: Conor Power; Ben McCormack, Luke Benson, Shane Lohan; Ross McAnespie, Daire Lohan, Cathal O Dulachain; Johnny Kinch, Des Kelly; David Finn, John O'Keeffe, Stephen McNicholas; Marc Lennon, Niall McGraynor, Conor Flannery.